Ok, I purchased a new digital camera in late September. I chose the Canon Digital Rebel XTi for a number of reasons. First up, I’d had a film version of the Rebel years ago and it was awesome. I also still had the lenses from this camera, so I was able to save a bunch of money by just getting the camera body. Additionally, the newly updated Rebel now sported over 10 mega pixels. This would (hopefully) allow me to get some large scale prints down the line. I’ve wanted a full on CCD astro-cam for years. However, even as the price of these has dropped considerably, I figured that it was better to get started with the digital slr now than wait to get the camera of my dreams later. Given how much I need to learn, the sooner I get started the better.

The first few images got me really excited. Sure, they contained a bunch of issues. Most of these initially were the result of improper alignment of the mount. I’d been using the mount for visual observations and it was aligned well enough for that, but… for longer exposure astro-photos… it just wouldn’t cut the cake. I even had a bunch of vibrations coming through the mount in into the image. (click on the image to see the two distinct times that Jupiter (roughly 90lbs) ran by the mount). But, these were (for the most part) easy things to fix. I could align the mount (we’ll discuss this in greater detail in a future post)… and I could keep my puppy Jupiter from running around on the deck while I image. I could also isolate the entire imaging system from the deck. This slow moving project will find its way into a number of subsequent posts. What really got me excited was simply the amount of raw data that I was able to capture. The image shown here was a simple 2 minute exposure with no image processing whatsoever. I was salivating just thinking about what I could do when I’d addressed the first couple of sets of issues…. and started stacking many, many 2 minute (and longer) exposures. I was also itching to get seriously under the covers with PhotoShop. I knew instantly that I’d be taking some pretty spectacular shots in the not too distant future. All I needed to do was to fix a few things here and there

Ok, you’re probably wondering… and I’m certainly dying to show off a shot that did come out nicely. The following shot was another 2 minute exposure on M42, The Orion Nebula. This was taken after I’d put Jupiter inside… and after I’d gotten myself properly situated. I made sure to take very shallow breaths so as to not vibrate the camera again Again, no processing of the image has been done on this. I simply shrunk the image a bit to save on bandwidth. A quick critique would say that this was an ‘OK’ shot. A bunch of details within the nebula were revealed, it nicely framed, but… where’d the Trapezium go? In case you’re not familiar with this, the Trapezium is a grouping of stars at the very core of the nebula. These are completely lost inside the overexposed core of the photo. This can be remedied in the future via Photoshop… though I’ll likely get a better series of photos and stack them before I get into this. And so the journey continues…

1. Mitch George, January 10, 2008:

   Anthony,

   I just picked up an XTi for astro imaging. My question is
   Are you using a modified XTi or is yours stock as in “out of the box”

   If I can come close to your results without having to remove the red light filter (which also blocks Ha) from inside the camera I will be very pleased indeed.

   Great site by the way. After seeing your work I’m chomping at the bit to get started.
   Still have to purchase a tee adapter but may try some piggy back stuff when time and weather permit.

2. anthony, January 10, 2008:

   Hey Mitch

   This is a stock Rebel XTi out of the box. I’m leary of modifying the camera. This would surely void the warranty… and likely end up with left over parts
   I’ve only begun to scratch the surface with what I can do with this digital camera.
   After a long, clear fall, we’ve been hammered for the last several weeks. Skies have been cloudy with snow dropping every day or two. I’m a skier, so this isn’t a bad thing, but it certainly has put the breaks on my imaging and posting.

   Anthony